Culture

Obviously, there’s a lot happening in the crypto community right now. Events are developing very rapidly, highlighting many conversations individuals and organizations need to have about the role crypto plays in their finances.

That’s what we were talking about last week. 

At that time, our team was examining Wikimedia’s decision to no longer accept donations in cryptocurrency. To determine whether or not this is a good move, we asked two questions:

Would this decision make Wikimedia’s users love Wikimedia more?

Would this decision make Wikimedia’s users trust Wikimedia more?

Sometimes love is tricky.

There are people out there who are extremely passionate about crypto. Perhaps you’ve met one or two yourself. People who are passionate about crypto in a positive way believe that having an alternative currency helps democratize the world. They point to Africa, where cryptocurrency allows people to receive payment for their labor and services faster and more reliably than they’d been able to with traditional banking services. And they point to Ukraine, where cryptocurrency donations have been used to fund the fight against Russian invaders.

Surely Wikimedia, an organization that exists to democratize knowledge and make information available to everyone in the world, should be actively embracing the crypto community as fellow travelers.

Not so fast, the people who are equally as passionate about crypto, but from a negative perspective. Crypto mining has huge negative impacts on the planet and the people who live there, they say. China, hardly renowned for caring for the environment, banned crypto mining within its borders. Much of this business went to Kazakhstan, overwhelming the nation’s power grid and leading to chaos and political upheaval. 

Surely Wikimedia, an organization committed to sustainability, shouldn’t be involved with a crypto community that operates in such an environmentally harmful way.

But decisions have to be made. 

As much as organizations (and individuals!) would like everyone to love them, in real life, choices have to be made and decisions implemented. No matter what choice you make, someone will love you less as a result. 

Pragmatically, it’s a good idea to have some idea of the proportional size of particularly passionate people in your user base. We’re all familiar with the vocal minority phenomenon – a small percentage of customers who through volume and tenacity dominate the conversation. 

When this decision was made, cryptocurrency donations represented less than one percent of Wikimedia’s revenue stream. If this move alienates the pro-crypto contingent to the point where they’d no longer support Wikimedia’s mission, not much revenue would be lost. The love might be gone, but the wallet would still feel right. 

And meanwhile, the anti-crypto users who felt Wikimedia made this decision in order to better live their corporate values may now love the brand more. Walking the walk inspires lasting loyalty. 

Given the relative size of these user groups, it seems likely that this move will result in more love for Wikimedia. 

But what about trust?

Now, as I mentioned, this conversation happened last week. So we spend some time talking through how divesting from crypto meant missing out on future gains, and what did that mean to the trust Wikimedia’s users have in the brand. Was abandoning tomorrow’s fortune a violation of today’s trust?

Does avoiding a crash strengthen trust?

It’s very, very easy to debate this point at length, but before you do that, it’s good to remember what Wikimedia’s user base trusts them to do. And the answer to that, across the multiple platforms under the Wikimedia umbrella, is to be a repository for the world’s knowledge, accessible to everyone. That’s the primary mission. That’s the trust Wikimedia should be focused on building – certainly more than they should be focused on effectively managing a volatile asset during complicated times. 

So through this lens, Wikimedia’s decision built trust with its user base. 

Crypto and Trust: Welcome to the Wild West

Another of the primary reasons Wikimedia gave for no longer accepting crypto donations is the high risk of fraud. The perception that crypto is a high-risk, untrustworthy market had more than a few adherents last week. Now that there’s story after story after story of people suffering financial devastation, that perception will be even stronger.

Crypto’s trust issues are directly tied to the problems that make the alternative currency so helpful to people in tough situations: the lack of government oversight & regulation. Investor moves that would result in SEC penalties had they happened on Wall Street are creating and crashing the cryptocurrency market. It’s often characterized as a Wild West situation, where anything goes.

Will the crypto world stay wild and free forever? I have my doubts. Whether measures to create greater stability and accountability will be imposed by nation-states or financial institutions remains to be seen, but they are coming. The genie is out of the bottle: cryptocurrencies are here to stay. The challenge is making them more trustworthy.

What do you think? I’m very interested in what you think of Wikimedia’s choices, as well as the current challenges crypto faces in terms of the trust.

Crocs weren’t created to be beautiful. 200 pairs of distinctively shaped, lightweight footwear were created for the 2001 Fort Lauderdale Boat Show. They sold out quickly. This was the brand’s first step to superstardom. More than 720 million pairs of Crocs have been sold since then, and the company is enjoying its fourth straight year of impressive revenue growth. This despite the fact that the fashion world deemed Crocs hideous, one of mankind’s worst inventions ever. How did this happen?

Know What Your Customers Love About You

Crocs may not be pretty, but they are durable, comfortable, and easy to clean. These characteristics, along with the shoe’s iconic clunky silhouette, have remained a constant over the brand’s 20+ year lifespan. Crocs fans are legion in part because the brand has identified what is important to their customer and then improved upon it.

Case in point: Croc’s roomy fit and durable construction made them an early hit with people with diabetes, who often have foot problems. Knowing this, Crocs focused on creating specific styles for this audience, using guidance from medical professionals. Other styles were created for health care workers, who appreciated having comfortable shoes that could easily be hosed off after a messy day of work, but needed a solid top to protect their feet from any medical waste that might splatter or spill upon them.

Love means listening, and Crocs has demonstrated that they do that.

Focus on Keeping Things Fun

As part of their corporate values, Crocs promises to keep an open mind and look on the bright and colorful side. That’s definitely been demonstrated in their product mix. While you can get basic white and black Crocs, the vast majority of Crocs offerings are boldly colored, distinctively patterned, or otherwise eye-catching. Crocs builds trust by delivering on its brand promise to be completely practical and totally goofy. Product options for men include Real-Tree Camo, Classic Tie Dye, styles matched to your Zodiac sign, and more.

Crocs also boosts the fun level of the brand through collaborations and limited editions created with pop celebrities and popular brands. The range of options is very impressive, including shoes inspired by the Grateful Dead and Post Malone, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Peeps, Vera Bradley, and Lightning McQueen from Cars. No matter what it takes to put a smile on your face, Crocs likely has a collaboration that covers it.

In fact, some of the most popular Crocs collaborations have a deliberately counterintuitive feel, such as the ongoing project with top fashion brand Balenciaga. Platform Crocs aren’t for everyone, but for the people who pay attention to what runway models wear, they’re certainly something.

Gilding the lily, in 2006, Crocs acquired Jibbitz, a company that made small fun charms people could use to personalize their shoes. Today, Jibbitz sales represent a sizable portion of revenue and have even been credited with the brand’s strong performance during the pandemic.

Crocs’ fun, expressive footwear makes their customers and other people smile. This positive emotional experience has resulted in a cohort of fanatically loyal Croc collectors. While the ‘typical collector’ may have a few dozen pairs to brag about, Doogie Lish Sandtiger is on a quest to have the world’s largest collection – he has nearly 800 pairs!

Love Means Getting Close: Crocs Direct to Customer Experience

While Crocs are available via many high-quality retail outlets it’s important to pay attention to Crocs’ Direct-to-Customer shopping experience.

It’s very easy for shoppers to quickly find the products that are meant for them, whether they’re after that classic Crocs look or need a new pair of shoes for work. With special discounts for teachers, healthcare workers, and the military, Crocs effectively honors and recognizes an important portion of its customer base while simultaneously keeping the shopping experience cheerful and bright.

While working hard to maintain the love and trust of their core customer base, Crocs uses its website to effectively leverage the social media influencers they’ve been using to expand the brand’s identity and grow market share. This is a smart way to keep customer experiences in alignment with expectations: the shopper who sees a pair of shoes on Instagram that they want will find those same shoes in the influencer’s collection on the website.

Other features to pay attention to are the Crocs Club, the Say Hi feature that directs shoppers to the nearest brick and mortar retail location, and importantly, an opportunity for customers to have their own Crocs images included on the site. The invitation to and celebration of community gives Crocs brand Lovers an easy-to-access way to deepen their relationship with the brand.

Going Forward: Growth Based on Core Values

Crocs has conducted itself fairly consistently since the beginning. The focus has been on continually improving product quality and keeping the fun factor high. Over the years, strategic acquisitions and partnerships have helped Crocs achieve and maintain a High Trust/High Love position.

Crocs core audience includes teachers and health care workers. What professions would you identify as being part of your core audience? How do you recognize and honor these individuals?